He's in Australia to help sell his new solo album, #willpower, with a performance on the talent show juggernaut The Voice.

The Black Eyed Peas main man-cum-pop super-producer Will.i.am is even one of the judges on the British version of the show, in which successful artists decide whether a contestant is worthy of proceeding beyond the initial auditions on the strength of their vocal performance alone.

Yet the irony of his appearance on such a show is not lost on the man christened William Adams.

"If I went up on The Voice or The X Factor or American Idol ... I wouldn't go through," Adams says. "They wouldn't pick me."

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Doesn't that set off alarm bells for someone who, between the Black Eyed Peas and his solo career, has sold nearly 60 million singles, won seven Grammy awards and recently broke an iTunes record with the track Scream & Shout (featuring Britney Spears), which hit No. 1 in 53 countries?

"Well, no. The format's not called The Artist ... That show doesn't exist."

What, then, does Adams see as the redeeming features of a show such as The Voice?

"When you're hearing a demo, you're really not looking at a person, you're hearing ... if that person has star quality in their voice," he says. "The looks are second."

It's nothing that new, he says, citing enduring artists long known for their voices more than their looks.

"Patti LaBelle sings incredible, Aretha Franklin's voice is amazing. Now, if the record industry was only looking for, like, pencil[-thin] models, then there would never be an Aretha Franklin. If the music industry was only looking for, y'know, the physique that could wear Victoria Secrets [sic], then there would never be a Patti LaBelle.

"So this format, The Voice, is a healthy execution of what the music industry should work like."

For music fans who want the whole writing, singing, playing, dancing package in a performer, Adams suggests searching somewhere else: "It's called YouTube." For one, that's where the man who guests on the new will.i.am single, #thatPOWER, was discovered; a man Adams rates highly.

"Justin Bieber is an anomaly, there's not many people like that," he says. "They come once in a lifetime. You're lucky if it happens twice in your life, where you have a talent that is born with it and at five he's playing the drums and at, y'know, 10 he's playing the piano ... He's full of energy, full of ideas."

Bieber has had a rough run in the public eye lately, which irritates Adams.

"That's sad that [the] media will try to find anything to sell a story," he says. "If something happens to Justin, I say media fuelled it. And if they care, they should be responsible in the things that they are over-exaggerating to sell a freaking newspaper, or see people watch their blog or their news report on a young kid going into adulthood."

Will.i.am will perform #thatPOWER on The Voice on Tuesday night. The album #willpower is out now through Interscope/Universal.

20 comments so far

Not surprisingly this no talent is pumping the tyres of another no talent. Sigh, what has become of real music??

Commenter

Dr Zoidberg

Location

At work

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 9:55AM

It disappeared years ago when Stock Aitken and Waterman conjured up Kylie Minogueand the steamroller called manufactured pap was born

Commenter

Jeromey

Location

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 10:43AM

I also find it interesting that the 2 ladies with awesome voices and big bums he mentioned had careers way back when - these days, your voice has nothing to do with it. The modern music machine is all about looks, and looks alone. Citing these 2 didn't really help bolster his point lol

Commenter

EM

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 11:16AM

Hint: it's not on commercial TV or FM stations. For starters try these newish releases: Johnny Marr- The Messenger, Frank Ocean- Tape Deck Heart, Depeche Mode- Delta Machine, Palma Violets- 180, Bob Evans- Familiar Stranger, OMD- English Electric- Passenger- All the Little Lights, Zedd- Clarity, David Bowie- The Next Day, The Chemists- Ballet in the Badlands. Amazing amounts of brilliant music released already this year but you have to look for it. Personally- I am horrified by the TV talent shows and the saturation coverage in the media the next day as if it's news. This crap will rot your brain and leave you soulless and wondering what's happened to music.

Turn on, tune in, drop out.

Commenter

Peter

Location

Perth

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 11:41AM

Actually, Kylie was talented BEFORE Stock, Aitken & Waterman picked her up. and they only reason she worked with them is because they could see her talent.

Commenter

KellyE

Location

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 12:59PM

Absolutely nothing - this sort of disposable rubbish has been around since the dawn of rock'n'roll. Just ask Pat Boone.

Commenter

Ben

Location

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 1:47PM

Of course the irony of will.i.am's appearance on such a show is his credibility as an 'artist' who is currently accused and since then admitted of ripping off EDM (that's - electronic dance music, for the uninformed) producers Arty and Mat Zo of their tune, 'Rebound', sampled heavily without acknowledgment on Adams's track for Chris Brown, 'Let's Go'. 'Artist', of course, is being used loosely here, as commentators on social media sites have continually given Adams new monickers such as will.i steal and will.i scam. I have no doubt Adams is a talented musician but 'inadvertently' sampling someone's work and passing off as own's work (AND profiteering from it) is intellectual property theft. My point? Well that's just - to borrow a word from the rap world - WHACK! And will.i.am, as you've once sang: 'where is the love?', and since you've mentioned Aretha - where is your r-e-s-p-e-c-t towards other artists?

Commenter

partyboy

Location

Sydney

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 10:46AM

When I see him responding or talking about any of it, I hear Eric Cartmans voince while pretending to be a child hooked on crack "I don't care, I do wot I waaaant"

Commenter

Daily Reader

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 1:15PM

Probably the same place as people's R.E.S.P.E.C.T for not illegally downloading music and movies. Or is that different?

Commenter

Don't get it

Location

Aus

Date and time

May 07, 2013, 3:27PM

Remember that terrible Sylvester Stallone movie "Demolition Man". Sandra Bullock singing along to old toothpaste commercials. Wake up, we are there today.